Unfindable
by Piratess-Bell
Summary: The pursuit of a magnificent treasure. Sounds like fun, ay? Throw in a runaway bride and a naive Navyman and Captain Jack Sparrow's in! Sparrabella
1. Prologue

_Unfindable_

Prologue

"T'ere is one."

The ominous sound of the mystic's crooning is heavy and reverberating, making every syllable send shivers down Captain Jack Sparrow's spine.

"Who?"

"You must find de one who you can trust. Trust wit' your treasure, trust wit' precious Pearl, trust wit' your own life."

This sends Jack's calculating mind reeling, changing his problem from a question of 'how' to 'whom.' Searching for ways to remedy this new obstacle. Searching memory for anyone, anyone at all who Jack placed such confidence in. But there was no one that Jack relied upon. There was no dependence. This, a fact he had prided himself upon, was now turning to his most horrible defeat.

"T'is treasure has been kept away from t'e world, not only because it is impossible to discover, difficult to learn of, and thousands have been slaughtered on the search for it, but because t'e men who seek it do not 'ave one t'ey trust. Do you 'ave such a person, witty Jack?

Honestly, Jack cannot not think of one person. He knows Tia Dalma knows this. He knows she knows he knows she knows this. But, that never stopped Jack from lying to her anyway. "Yeah, sure I do," He lies guiltlessly.

Tia Dalma raises her eyebrows in skepticism, but goes into her back room anyway. "T'is is not t'e map to t'e treasure. T'is is a way to find t'e map." She hands the rolled up parchment to Jack. "It will begin you on your way to t'e treasure what waits at t'e end, but witty Jack," she stops him, before he walks out the door. "Do not search for it without t'e one you trust. The spirit that guards t'e treasure will swallow your soul if you appear at t'ose gates wit' no one."

"Er... thanks," Jack heeds the warning, as morbid as it was. He knows Tia Dalma is not kidding.

As one can see, Captain Jack Sparrow has an interesting problem. He likes treasure. A lot. He doesn't like sharing it. If he can't get the treasure himself, and has to bring one person he trusts, (which is an anomaly in and of itself), he'll likely have to divide the treasure with said person. Of course, half a fantastic treasure is better than none, but Jack did not become a pirate because of his generosity.

So, on his way back down the Pantano River to the Caribbean Sea, this is what Jack pondered. He had the ship, he had the first clue to a legendary treasure, and he had a cryptic warning, now all he needed was a partner.


	2. 1 Bill

_Unfindable_

Part One

Bill

_"Why she had to go, I don't know. She wouldn't say."_

_-Yesterday, The Beatles_

"How could you do this to me!" cried Bill Turner, yet again dressed in his wedding suit, flowers and all, while his bride-to-be gazed out the window onto the stormy ocean off North Carolina, dressed extravagantly in white, the long veil shrouding her teary eyes.

"I just can't do it, Bill," she attempts to explain. "There's something just telling me that it's not right. I'm sorry." She pulls her fiancé into a deep embrace, apologizing for stopping their marriage for the second time. "I really care about you. I'm sorry."

"If you love me," Bill reasons, "than why is this so hard for you, Arabella?"

Arabella Smith bows her head and lets out a shallow breath. "I don't know…"

"Arabella, look at me," Bill softly suggested. He gently sets himself down next to his fiancée on the window seat. He eases into his words, unsure how Arabella will react, "If I'm not the only one…"

Arabella turns viciously and looks at Bill severely. "There _is_ no one else, Bill, how often must I remind ye?"

"I trust you, you know that, but…"

"You don't! Why won't ye believe that I'm not a bloody pirate wench? Stop treating me like an unfaithful scarlet letter!" Arabella demanded.

"I didn't mean it that way," Bill apologized, clearly sorry for bringing it up.

"Then how did ye mean it, Bill?" Arabella snipped through her tears.

"I just meant that I wanted to be your only one, like you are mine. I just thought that marrying you would be proof for me, so until then, I'm going to assume the reason is because there is someone making you not want to get married." Bill explained, some spite actually leaking into the serenity of his quiet monotone.

"Well, if that's what ye think of me, then maybe I don't want to marry ye!" Arabella shot back.

"Arabella!" Billy exasperatedly exclaimed. This is not where he meant to go with this. He knew Arabella inherited her mother's fiery temper, but he didn't think she would go this far.

"No, Bill. I mean it. If ye think I'm just a cheating tavern girl, then ye really must not know me as well as I thought." Swallowing the lump in her throat, Arabella pulled the beautiful engagement ring off her finger and put it in Bill's hand. With this she walked purposefully up the aisle, tears staining her gorgeous dress as she attempted to run out of the church.

Billy watched her go, hot tears running down his cheeks, he looks at the engagement ring and runs out the front doors past his almost bride and throws the beautiful ring off the sea cliff to the cold Atlantic. He hangs his head as the sun goes down.

Bill doesn't know what to do. He knew that she would too soon be gone. Out with the tides, following her unanchored heart, changeable as the wind, carelessly whipping his cheeks. He didn't know how she would get away, but something inside him knew that she was going to go with the other one. The one she said never existed, and will never matter to her. That one last boundary in his way to happiness.

He didn't even know who he was. It didn't matter to him, all he wanted was Arabella, back safely in his arms. Feeling as fulfilled and wantless as he was when she was with him. How could she not feel the way he did? She said she loved him. He knew he loved her. What was so wrong that she couldn't marry him?

Father Matthew stopped Bill before he left. This was the second time he almost married Bill and Arabella. He put a hand on Bill's shoulder. "May the Lord grant you peace in your hour of grief. Bless you, Bill."

Bill felt little comfort, but thanked Father Matthew. It helped to know that someone cared in this empty, meaningless world. He walked on the beaten dirt path to the small cottage. Crumbs, his loyal dog, walked solemnly up to him, sensing the sadness weighing down his master's heart, he nudged Bill's hand tenderly trying to comfort him. Bill ran his hand through Crumb's matted fur.

The door squeaks open, Bill's coat in on the nail in the wall, his shoes on the mat, Crumbs on his pillow. The cottage is silent. Bill waits for the warmth of Arabella's small hand in his, or her smooth voice coming from the kitchen. He waits, but all he can feel is the aching loneliness deep inside him.

He wondered where she was. Right that second. Was she thinking of him? Could she forget him so simply? This brings him to tears, that he could be so worthless to the only one who matters to him.

But on the other side of town, Arabella Smith's wedding dress was being replaced with britches and a billowy blouse, her elegant veil being substituted with a leather hat, her high heels for brown boots and her wedding flowers for a new blue bandana.

"She'll come back," Bill assured himself. "She'll come back." Wind whistled through the empty cottage by the sea. "She'll be back by tomorrow, surely." He stated as if it were an obvious fact. "She said she cares about me, she couldn't just leave." Bill feels momentarily comforted by these words. "But, she did," whispered doubt, sadness, and pain. It takes a long while for poor Billy to finally fall to a fitful sleep, filled with callings for his loved one.

Arabella grinned broadly and screamed to the ocean with joy. Golden hoops flashed in the dim light, and her most charming smile glittered. "She'll come back," Bill told himself.

But Bill didn't know what happened before; he didn't know who his former fiancée found when she visited Port Royal. He just knew that when she came back, she was different. Her pleased smile vanished, welcoming the troubled, conflicted glassiness into her sparkling eyes.

That night, Bill didn't speak to her before bed. He just took her hand, she allowed him to take her in his arms. She rests her head on his shoulder and before long he can feel tears through his shirt. He looks out towards the ocean, the moon is full and moonlight bathes the cottage, but in his arms, Arabella is covered only in shadows.

_'Cause I cant make you love me if you don't  
You cant make your heart feel something it won't  
Here in the dark, in these lonely hours  
I will lay down my heart and I'll feel the power  
But you won't, no you won't  
'cause I cant make you love me, if you don't*  
_

Bill could feel tenderness of his heart aching with the pain of his love, but Arabella looked up at him, and turning away, she speaks: "Goodnight." Bill hears nothing in her voice. She lays down in the chair and is fast asleep.

_I'll close my eyes, then I won't see  
The love you don't feel when you're holding me  
Morning will come and I'll do what's right  
Just give me 'til then to give up this fight  
And I will give up this fight*  
_

Bill can feel it then, all the love he feels for her is still there, but hers is gone. She doesn't care at all. Bill refuses to believe it. He pushes this thought from his mind, with all those treacherous thoughts like it. They were to be married tomorrow. Of course she loved him. Of course.

Bill looked back on this now, with the knowledge of today's events in mind, heart falling and worst fears confirmed. Bill felt hollow now, nothing left. Reason gone. The world seemed to frail around him, the black cloak of dreamless sleep choking out the light.

Arabella, the Faithful Bride's beautiful daughter, seems to be contrary. That night, Arabella Smith ironically became the Unfaithful Bride.

_*Lyrics from "I Can't Make You Love Me" by Bonnie Raitt. _


	3. 1 Arabella

_Unfindable_

Part One

Arabella

_"Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter. Li__ttle darling, it seems like years since it's been here"_

_-Here Comes the Sun, The Beatles_

Secrets kept from loved ones can be dangerous. Arabella has one of these secrets. But, Bill is wrong. He thinks that there is someone else. If only it could be so simple. Arabella is conflicted. She remembers the days when she would dream of being married to a good man and living in a seaside cottage. But, it doesn't feel right. She loves the sea. She's drawn to it. She has friends and family out there, that she will never again see. This makes her unsure. The ring on her finger strangles her heart, binding her to the land.

She loves Bill. Very dearly. He makes her unendingly happy. He cares about her so much, she wishes he would worry less, care less so that she did not have to hurt him so. Bill is tethered to this place. North Carolina calls to him, as the ships in Port Royal do to her. His family is here, his faithful and kindly dog lives here. He will not leave with her. Achingly, she looks out on the water. She would love nothing more than to leave this place that mocks her and teases her with desire.

It is then that her finger pulses and she remembers her place. Though she does not drink, she goes into the tavern, the Bonny Belle, and sits at the counter sulking in the solitude of a rowdy crowd. It is completely unimaginable that someone here might recognise her. It is unimaginable that she might know someone here. And yet...

With his brimming confidence, a jaunty leather tricorn on his head and a smug grin on his lips, Captain Jack Sparrow makes his entrance. Arabella's brow furrows. She questions her eyesight and then turns back, making sure he was really there. He walks over to her, her eyebrows shoot up, but he doesn't seem to notice, he sits on the empty bar stool next to her. She turns forward wondering if she could be dreaming. Once he calls for rum, she laughs out loud in her disbelief. "Jack Sparrow?" she asks, between humor and surprise.

He turns to her, questioning. Analysing, he remembers, "Bell?"

She brings her hand to her mouth, laughing lightly and smiling uncontrollably. "What are ye doing here?" She asks.

"Looking for some help," he explains. "I have a new heading for a fantastic treasure, I have a beautiful ship, now all I need is a crew!"

"Oh, that sounds brilliant, Jack," she raves. She was just dreaming of such things. Now, here it was, her dreams being lived without her. Needless to say, Arabella was mighty tempted.

"You… wouldn't be interested in coming, would you?" Jack charms, making Arabella's heart beat unmercifully fast. Jack gives her the most alluring smile she thinks possible and her shoulders sag. She looks away playfully, breathing a sigh.

"Oh…" she whines. She gains a more serious tone. "Jack, I'm engaged to Billy Turner." She lifts her hand and displays the sparkly ring. "I can't leave with ye. It would break his heart."

Jack made a pouty face. He looked at her pleadingly and she bit her lip trying not to give in. "Aw… Bell, it would be so much fun. You know you love the freedom, the sea, the treasure…"

She knew he was right. He could read her like an open book. She leans her face on her hand. "I know… I would love nothing more than to come with you." She admits. He grins victoriously. "But—I have responsibilities, Jack. I am not free to make this choice. I'm bound to the land. I promised."

"Come on, Bill's a tough guy, he wouldn't mind. You'd only be gone for a bit, then come back all happy and refreshed. You can't let him take away your freedom, doll," Jack passionately pointed out.

The charm was beginning to wear on Arabella, a conflicted and thoughtful expression passed over her face like a shadow, dimming her glow. Jack turned away taking a swig of rum, leaving her to think for a moment. "I don't know," she shrugs when he turns back to her. Her smile is apologetic and she continues. "Shall I get married or become a pirate again?" She bites her lip indecisively.

"Can't you do both?" Jack suggests.

"No, Bill would never let me leave. I've asked. He's tethered to blasted North Carolina." Arabella complains.

"You don't like it here?" Jack asks, realizing how much staying here was torturing poor Arabella.

"No, not at all. I can't stand it really," Arabella explained, dubiously.

"Well, that's horrible, Bell. You have to come with when I sail tomorrow. It's final." Jack says decisively.

Arabella looks pained. "Tomorrow is that day of the wedding."

Jack laughs. "What a choice!"

"Oh, Jack." She covers her face with her hands, sliding down to support her chin. "What do I do?"

"Come with me," Jack pleads, his tone turning sad and desperate, laying on the final, defining blow that will make her agree. "I've missed you," he admits secretively.

Shivers go up her spine. She feels cold. No, more like numb. She closes her eyes. "Ye'll come to the wedding," Arabella breathes. "There, ye will get yer answer. If I am married that day, ye know I will not be leaving with ye. But, if I stop the wedding… meet me here, that night."

A wicked grin sparks Jack Sparrow's face. He'd won her over, he could feel it. "Where will you be married?" he asks eagerly.

"In the church on the dirt road leading north to the cottage. It's called 'Sacred Heart.' I can show ye where it is one the way home if ye like." Arabella offers.

"That'd be kind of you," Jack accepted. "Wouldn't want to draw me a map."

Arabella erupted in laughter. She remembered the first time they met and he lost the map and made her wait for hours before stumbling out of the bush bleeding from a fight and soaked from the rain. Now here he was, smiling at her as free spirited and childishly fun-loving as he was when they were younger. "That's right," she agreed, heartily. "Oh, it's great to see ye again, Jack."

Jack smiled coyly. "You, too, darling. What say you show me to that church now?"

"I'd love to," she complies happily. She turns around on the stool, surprised when Jack is there, ready to help her off the stool, just like a proper English gentleman. "Thank you, Jack," Arabella says, impressed and then adds, "And they say chivalry is dead."

Jack doesn't answer, just opens the door for her and gives and exaggerated bow. "My lady," he says smoothly.

"Don't overdo it," she says playfully.

"Fair enough," he laughs.

Soon enough, they are at the Sacred Heart. A twinge of sadness picks at Arabella. She had a great time talking to Jack for just one short evening, how much would she be missing if she did not go with him on his newest adventure? He really wanted her to come along. She didn't think she could take another one of his disappointed faces. She looks up at him. What now?

"So…" she begins, not wanting him to leave her side. "This is the church. You'll be here tomorrow?"

"Aye, waiting for your signal," he assures her.

"Good…" she doesn't want to be the one to say goodbye. "So, I suppose this is good…"

Jack quickly interrupts. "Do you think Bill would mind if I walked you home?" Jack quickly chides himself on the choice of words. He could just as easily have suggested that Bill would have _wanted_ him to take her home to be sure of her safety, that way she couldn't say no, but the words just slipped out.

Arabella is struck by the frankness of his offer, but smiles, looking rather relieved. "I think Bill would be just fine with that."

With that, they continue their walk, never running out of things to talk about. Arabella is glowing with happiness by the end of their walk. Their hands brushing, she shifts uncomfortably.

"So I guess this really is goodbye," Arabella said sadly.

Jack frowns. "I guess so." Jack falls to his knee, tipping his hat, and lightly kisses her hand. "I can overdo it a bit at least." He winks and disappears into the dark.

Arabella smiles, warmed from within at Jack's wily charms. Billy waits at the door, looming over her. The smile stripped from her face, she stands next to him. What was she going to do tomorrow? She leans into his arms and he holds her loosely. She feels small comfort and she pulls her head under his chin. He is warm from the house and his peaceful beauty eases her nerves. 'I love him,' she thinks. 'I should marry him.'

A sadness rises with these words. Arabella is confused at this feeling, but a lot of her feelings have confused her tonight. Her mind spinning, she retires to the comfort of her chair. She pretends to sleep until Bill goes off to his bunk, then she just leans back and wonders what ever shall she do.

It felt great being with Jack again. He was really excited to have her on the crew again, too. She really would like to go with him, but she loves Bill, she could never hurt him like that. How could she be satisfied? Either way she feels like she's made the wrong choice. Or the right one. The right one, she muses. Arabella eventually falls to sleep, no closer to an answer than she had been.

Morning came too soon and before a complete moment of concentration, she was stepping out the doors to the aisle and in the almost empty church there they were, Bill smiling gloriously in his wedding attire, a red rose in his lapel, and Jack Sparrow, fitting in as well as Fitz Dalton in the barroom of the Faithful Bride. Her eyes darted between them beneath her veil. She still hadn't come to a decision when Jack looked her in the eyes from his seat, somehow knowing that she was looking at him, and mouthed, "marry him."

A tear streaked down her cheek. She can't breathe in the corset already, and this gesture that has stolen her breath causes her to collapse in the aisle. Both Bill and Jack rush toward her, Bill lifts her head and fans her with his hand, Jack kneels and gaping, asks Bill what he could do.

"I don't know," Bill says, stumped. "Does anyone know what to do?" he calls to the church.

"She's wearing a corset," Jack realizes.

Bill's face wrinkles at Jack's blunt lack of propriety. "Yes?" he asks.

"They don't make it easy to breathe, mate," Jack clarified, reminded of Bill's unpleasant mannerisms.

"Thanks," Bill grunts unkindly. Bill picks Arabella up, throwing one of her arms around his shoulder and putting his arms under her back and knees, carrying her to the back of the church to get Arabella de-corseted without the audience of Jack Sparrow.

When she wakes, she is behind lying in the front pew of the church, her last ingrained memory the expression of Jack's face. The kind, giving-in, freeing smile that encouraged his own loss. Where was he? The church is empty, except for Billy. "What happened?" she asks.

"You collapsed. No air." He explains.

"Oh," she sighs. What does this mean of her choice? She still has to make one, she realizes, but fast, as Jack's ship is leaving that night. Bill seems sore at her for another failed attempt at marriage. "I'm sorry, Bill. But…"

"Yes?"

"But, um, it wasn't just the corset." She didn't know where she was going with this, but she wanted to tell him the truth.

"What do you mean?" he asked, hurt.

"Bill, I couldn't do it. I couldn't make it down that aisle."

"Why not? I love you, you love me, don't you? What could be wrong, dear?" Bill figures, confused and flustered.

"I don't know, my heart's not in it. It's not the right time." Arabella feels a pressure in her throat as she sees Bill's face fall.

"How… how could you do this?" Bill asks, trembling.

Arabella's words fog together with Bill's, and before she can realize or stop it, she is ringless and on her way to the port.

'_Love you, Bill. Miss you, Bill. See you, dearest. See you on the other side of this cruel choice_.' Arabella pens this quickly on the cloth crown of the veil where she knows Bill will find it. Wiping a tear from her eye, she follows Jack to this painfully perfect side of the choice.

She is sad, she is missing him, but she never said she was sorry.


	4. 1 Jack

_Unfindable_

Part One

Jack

_"There will be an answer, let it be__"_

_-Let It Be, The Beatles_

A happy song in his heart, and a clever smirk on his face, Jack Sparrow sat in the Bonny Belle tavern at a table, waiting for potential crew members to join the ranks. After the fine walk with Arabella, Jack was fairly certain she would choose to come with on his most recent adventure, but he didn't want to take unnecessary chances. A new crew would be refreshing, Jack thought, tipping his hat over his forehead and leaning back in the creaky wooden chair. And besides, he could more than one option for his "one most trusted person."

That is why he went to North Carolina anyway, looking for Bell. He had heard from Bill years ago that he would be going to here if he had the chance. After he saw how Bill and Arabella…were, he figured this was his best bet for finding her.

Ah, Bell. Jack shook his head. There was a time, it seemed like a really long time ago now, but Jack realized that it was only a few years ago, where Jack would have given anything to be as important to Arabella as Bill was. To be the one she came to when she was scared, the one she was bound to. But, hey, that was a long time ago. His chance was gone, and she was getting married tomorrow. He should be happy for her. He breathes. He was happy for her.

He should tell Arabella that she should get married to Bill. He wanted her to be happy. He knew Bill could do that better than him. She needed someone like him; calm, steady, taming her ire and dependably trustworthy. Even if he was kind of boring.

He knew Arabella was weak to temptation, but he also knew that she was very remorseful and would hold it against herself forever if she made Bill upset. Now, as unlike Jack as it was, Jack was going to take his victory and, without cause, give it up. Why? He had at least a shred of goodness in him. At least when it came to Arabella. Jack knew he could get another girl, but he never really wanted another girl. He was still waiting for her, though he knew she wasn't coming. He knew she wasn't even aware that he was waiting. But he didn't mind.

Interrupting Jack's thoughts, a man knocks his knuckles on the wood of the table. "Allo," said the man. He looked like a pretty respectable sailor. A little scruffy, but that made him all the more likely to be a good pirate.

"Ay?" Jack asked, waking slowly from his rambling subconsious. "You here to sign up for the crew of the _Black Pearl_, the most fearsome pirate ship on the seven seas?" he guesses, hopefully.

"Uh… sure. But I was actually going to ask how you know that girl, Arabella. She seems like the kinda girl I'd like to meet, if you know what I mean," the man said, suggestively. Jack looked at the man a moment, his intentions now fully realized, disgust clothed Jack's features.

"In that case, you'd best stay here, the Pearl sails tomorrow, and if you wish to win her heart before tomorrow you'll have other arrangements." Jack bargained. He did not want this sailor to be drooling over Bell if she did decide to come. In fact, Jack didn't want anyone looking at Bell at all. He was sort of protective over her.

"Why tomorrow?" he man inquired.

"She's gettin' married tomorrow." Jack's words came out harshly. As if he was not only warning the man but cautioning himself.

The man's face fell. "Oh. That's a cryin' shame. Thanks anyway, mister." He dejectedly walks away. Jack sighs inwardly. He was no closer to finding new crewmates than he was when he began. Then, halfway back to his seat the gruff sailor has stopped and has turned back to Jack. "You're sure?" he checks.

"Positively," Jack answers, frustrated with the persistant sailor. The man turns back around to his seat and his drink with a sigh. Jack rolls his eyes, leans back, his hat falling back over his eyes as if nothing had happened at all. As it gets late, Jack falls into a dreamy half-sleep. He awakes to the sound of a mug clinking on the tavern's dented tables, his eyes fluttered open to the sight of a young tavern girl, picking up his almost empty rum mug. She is startled and looks at him with wild, curious eyes.

"I'm sorry, sir, very sorry," she apologizes. She is about fifteen. Her hair hangs in front of her eyes. Her voice is the wind, beautiful as wind chimes, but quiet as a breath.

"No problem, lass," Jack replies, heavy nostalgia passing over him. He is in the Faithful Bride, young Arabella Smith is standing in front of him. She pulls him out of harm's way and outside. Raindrops on her eyelashes, reflecting the candle, making him stare. She says the only thing that could make the moment better, 'I'll go with ye…' Jack is flying, for one unspoiled moment. The misty window of reality wipes the freedom away, reminding Jack that he may be a Sparrow, but he was still crippled and alone without her.

An evening later, Jack is sitting in the church, Sacred Heart. He looks up at the intricate stained glass window, casting feeble rainbow shadows from the fiery orange sunset over the sea. Christ's merciful gaze falling upon him, he feels unbearably out of place. Bill enters, looking no different from when Jack last saw him, just as sullen and stolid as always. An unnatural smile appears on his face, Jack realizes this must be the most important day of Bill's life. God as his witness, Jack promises to try to preserve this day for this joyless man, a friend of his, if he had any.

The organ humming deeply and the procession in position, the wedding began. Everything was perfect. Exactly the way it was supposed to be. When the bride opens the church doors, the collective audience gasps. Time slows to the beats of Jack's heart. He tries to turn forward, keeping his vow, but he is suspended. He senses her gaze, though he cannot see her eyes. He has to keep his promise. "Marry him," he breathes, taking all his strength.

Arabella is on the ground. Jack jumps to her rescue, only to find that Bill is already there, stabbing Jack with his eyes, and Jack wonders what this could mean. Would she come with him now? He couldn't help hoping errantly. After Bill takes her away, Jack sits outside the chapel, not willing to be watched by the glass, but not willing to leave her completely.

Jack thinks about trust. Perhaps she was his only chance at this grand treasure. This voyage was pointless without her, he grimly realizes. Or until he found another person in the world worthy of trust. Not too good a chance of that.

Jack's sad eyes glinted in the whispering glow of Bill's candle. "What are you doing here?" Bill asks, as much emotion as Bill allows himself to show, it was difficult to say what he was feeling, but Jack figured it was something angry. "Everyone else has left, yet you remain."

"How's the future Mrs. Turner?" Jack doesn't look at Billy.

"That is no buisness of yours. You were not invited to this wedding. Why did you come?" Bill persisted.

Jack didn't want to get Bill mad at Arabella, so he gives him a faint, strangled smile that doesn't touch his sad eyes. "Bless you both." He tips his hat and pushes the door open, and walks into the cold night air. Clearing his lungs with a breath of chilling air, Jack walks the dirt road, kicking a pebble and wishing.

Jack walked down to the port town again, a full dosage of melancholy musings in his head, when he hears his name on the wind. He stops, listening. After a moment of nothing, he continues walking, never counting out the occasional voice in his head, until he hears it again. This time, closer. He turns around to look behind him, and he sees a figure coming down the path. "Jack!" calls the figure, hardly noticable in the shadows, but Jack begins to go towards it.

Before long, Jack notices the long, pale white silk of her wedding dress, which she now dragged in the mud, her expensive heel shoes in her hand as she ran, her hair coming undone after hours of work and a smile on her tearstreaked face. When she reaches Jack, she is swiftly cradled in his arms, her only support after her sprint. She looks up at his face. He smiles his crooked smile and greets her awkwardly "Allo, luv, nice to see you, too." She lets out her laughter and tears. She collapses right there in his arms. Falling apart piece by piece, all it had taken so long to create.

There, by the side of the worth dirt path, Arabella tells him everything. Everything that she wished were different about Bill, everything he did that hurt her inside, and all that she couldn't tell him about why she could not marry him for the fear she may hurt him.

_Far, away from it all  
You and me with no one else around  
A brand new start  
Is all we need, it's all we need to mend these hearts  
Back to the beginning*_

Jack just listened. He knew that's all she wanted. No judgement, like she gets from Bill, no regrets, no take-backs, just letting everything she held in finally flow out.

_Be still  
Let it go*_

Suddenly, she stops. "This is pointless. I have to accept these sad truthes, not just sit here and sulk about them." She paints on a brave face over her tears, standing from her seat in the cool nighttime grass.

_Foolish one with the smile  
You don't have to be brave_

_I'll gladly climb your walls  
If you'll meet me halfway  
Every time we fall down  
But we're falling from grace*_

Jack props up his torso with his elbows behind him. "Ignoring what's bothering you won't make it go away, doll. If you ever want Bill to change and start listening, you'll have to talk to him. I know he really loves you, and I know it makes him frustrated that you don't seem to trust him. You have to tell him if you want to make it better." Again encouraging his own loss, Jack releases these words, giving her a clear mind and another chance to walk back up that path.

_Here's my hand and my heart  
It's yours to take*  
_

She closes her eyes, a tear leaking out, and her hair in her eyes. "Ye wouldn't mind if I…" Jack was almost certain her next words would be 'leave' or 'go home.' "…um, put off me revelation to him for a while?"

"Of course not," Jack answered earnestly.

With that, they made their way back down to the port, the pirate and the runaway bride, quite a pair, delighting in the townspeople's confused stares. For Jack and Arabella, the first time in a long time, things seemed to be going all right.

_*Lyrics from "Be Still" by Kelly Clarkson_


End file.
